Hey Apes fans! Now, with four months (16 weeks) to go before the release of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes I thought it would be fun to mention all the things that are coming up in terms of the Apes universe before Dawn's release in July. I also thought I would post my speculations for the Dawn prequel novel which is currently titled Firestorm.
Events[]
March[]
- Andy Serkis (Caesar) will recieve the Vanguard Award at CinemaCon for his work with Motion Capture. CinemaCon runs from March 24-27 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas
April[]
- April is the month in which Judy Greer (Cornelia)'s memior 'Don't Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star' is released to bookstores on April 8.
May[]
- On May 27 the prequel novel to Dawn entitled: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm is released to bookstores. The ebook is due for release on June the 3rd. Please note that the dates listed here is the American release datse for the book both in regular book format and ebook format.
June[]
- Like mentioned above, the ebook for Dawn's prequel Firestorm is released. See the note above.
- Also released this month on June 17 is the release of the concept art book: Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: The Art of the Films. This book will contain the concept art for both Rise and Dawn.
July[]
- The big month! On July 11 (10 for Australia and New Zealand) is the day we wil finally get to see Caesar on back on the big screen. Hail Caesar!
- On July 15, sees the release date for the movie's novelisation of the same name. Please note that the date is subject to change.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm Speculation[]
Like I promised, this section of the blog will concentrate on what I think will happen in Firestorm.
Caesar[]
I wanted to start with Caesar because I think the novel will revolve around how he manages to set up the colony to what we will see on screen in Dawn.
As we know already, Caesar will be married by the time we catch up with him. His wife will be Cornelia, a chimp we see briefly in Rise. It is possible we will have a proper introduction to her in the book and how their relationship will play out. It will be nice to see how the pair cope as parents to their son. See 'River' further down the page.
As the film's official site states, "A Revolutionary becomes King". When I saw this quote I thought of a few things. First off, in light of this quote, there is no doubt that the Revolutionary leader that Caesar was in Rise has been upgraded to that of King as Caesar is the leader/Alpha of the entire Colony. Secondly, if this is the case then we're seeing a direct reference to Roddy McDowall's Caesar in the final two films of the original franchise.
One thing I've got my fingers crossed for is the mention of his suspected rivalry with Koba. I hope this brought to life in this book. The rivalry was definitely starting in Rise by the way Caesar threw him off Will in order to protect his father from the Bonobo's wrath.
Will & Caroline[]
As it has been confirmed, Will and Caroline, Caesar's adoptive parents won't make any kind of appearance in Dawn but they could be referenced in some way. There was a set picture that I've seen where there's a wall and 'ALZ-113' is painted. Will was the creator of the Simian flu after all so why wouldn't he be mentioned.
I've heard speculation that Caesar may have actually witnessed Will (and possibly Caroline) die from the Simain Flu if that is case then I hope that it will referenced in this book.
I've also wondered whether Caesar is just as protective of his son as Will was with him. I wonder whether this will be mentioned as well.
In terms of Caroline, there's not much I can put other then the fact I hope we learn what her fate was during the battle on the bridge.
They could both be mentioned in passing.
Cornelia[]
I've always thought that Cornelia was an interesting character even thought she only pops up twice in Rise as most of her scenes were cut from the final film which was disappointing but luckily we're going to get to know her a little better in Dawn. In the meantime, we should get an early glimpse of her in Firestorm if all goes to plan.
As we know, Andy Serkis and Dylan Clark let slip last year at Comic Con that Cornelia was going to be Caesar's wife and it got me thinking of a million things we could see in either Firestorm, 'Dawn or possibly both.
Since Firestorm is the events leading up to the events in Dawn then maybe, just maybe, we'll get a glimpse into her personality and how she takes up the challenge of being the wife and queen of the most famous Chimpanzee in the entire colony.
Like I mentioned before in the 'Caesar' section, Cornelia will be the mother of Caesar's son, River and later their newborn baby. I would love to see what kind of a mother she is and how she interacts with her husband and the other apes. I suspect that she will be just like Lisa in the original films. Kind and thoughtful and a favorite of Caesar. Whether Cornelia will be like this isn't clear as of yet but as the next few months draw near we're bound to get our answer. Hopefully Firstorm will clear this up for us.
In a recent interview Judy Greer did while promoting the upcoming season of Archer, she was asked about her character and what her relationship with Caesar was going to be like and Judy said that Cornelia is the one that keeps Caesar grounded in terms of personality. Perhaps the book is give us more of an insight into this.
Malcolm & Co[]
Malcolm, his family and Dreyfus are all new characters in Dawn and will be the counterparts of Caesar and the lead apes (Cornelia, River and possibly Koba). Will they get a mention? Who knows? Maybe.
Maurice[]
Like all Apes fans are aware, no Planet of the Apes film is complete without the Orangtauns. Many fans of Rise fell in love with the kind Orangtaun who befriended Caesar while in captivity and became his first ape friend. Now, Maurce is back and still forever loyal to the King of the Apes. Not much has been revealed about Maurice's role in the film but maybe we'll get a little more information when Firestorm is released.
As far as we know, Maurice will still be Caesar's right hand and judging by the character poster, he is gearing up for war alongside Caesar and Rocket. I would like to see a little bit of interaction between and Cornelia and River as well as time goes on. I hope this comes to light as I reckon Maurice and Cornelia would probably have a good relationship because of their bonds with Caesar.
Rocket[]
Every ape king needs an equal and Caesar certainly got that with Rocket. In Firestorm I am really hoping for some interaction between Rocket and Caesar where they are civil to each other and not trying to rip each other apart. Okay, I made that part up. Anyway, due to Rocket's strengths, I am really hoping the book will shred some light on Rocket's position within Caesar's main circle. War leader maybe? Anything's possible.
River[]
Since it was announced that Caesar and Cornelia were going to be parents in the new film I was very excited. As Firestorm is set between the two films it could be possible that we get a glimpse at a young River and as he grows up to the teenager we will see in Dawn. I personally would love to see what his relationship is like with his father as they team up in Dawn (according to reports) along with their human counterparts. I would love to see a little bit of jealously when the new baby is born.
That's all I've got at the moment. When I could up with more I'll be sure to add it here. I would love to hear your thoughts about the book.